


Heaven Knows (We Belong Way Down Below)

by Gage



Series: Magic is Science [1]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV), Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Forced Bonding, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent, M/M, Multi, Panic Attacks, Polyamory, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, WIP
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:15:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22737055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gage/pseuds/Gage
Summary: Being found was just the beginning...
Series: Magic is Science [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1634860
Comments: 7
Kudos: 16





	1. Intro

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Lisa for talking and being my beta on this. Alice for the translations concerning the language. Jen for being my cheer person on this. Jamie for being the first person who went over the idea with me. This is actually the first thing I wrote for this fandom back in November but I've been sitting on it for so long I actually forgot about it. I've tagged with every possible eventuality, will be adding more as the story goes along.

* * *

**2015 Northern Los Angeles, California,**

Isabelle Lightwood walked down the halls of the institute with intent, heart beating fiercely in her chest. The folder she held in her hands was thick and worn away with years of being passed from person to person. She wasted no time knocking on the Head of Institute office a few times, before walking in. Isabelle slammed the thick folder onto the table, the woman behind the desk looked up at her in shock. 

“Isabelle, what the hell..” 

“You told me you had a _handle_ on this.” Isabelle bulldozed over her friends' protest. She wasn’t here as a friend, not after what she’d discovered over the last few days. “You told _Thomas_ and me that you had a handle on these missing mundanes.” 

“We do... The head of the institute replied vehemently. 

“Then what the hell are these?” Isabelle removes the files within the folder spreading them out, stabbing her finger on each photo. Her partner had painstakingly gone over each new case that had popped up. “James Buckley, Maria Rodriguez, Miranda Diaz, David B…” 

“OK.” The dark-haired woman stood up and walked to the door, she pulled out a stele and started writing on the door. A flare of light passed over where she’d drawn a dark rune. 

“These are mundanes, Aline, you told me…” 

“I know what I told you,” Aline Penhallow shakes her head sadly, “It wasn’t my call Isabelle. This… whatever it is that is happening,” 

Isabelle frowned at her friend, “Aline, these mundanes that are being taken are turning up dead, with demonic runes, someone is taking them…” 

“I know,” Aline grits out. 

“Then why…” 

“Because we were told that they weren’t…” 

“Weren’t what?” Isabelle kept pushing, she could not understand why Aline was being so cagey with her, even after she drew the sound dampening rune on her office door. 

“You need to drop this,” 

“Are you out of your mind?” Isabelle can’t believe what she’s hearing. 

Aline moves around her and gathers up the photos placing them back into her files. “I’m asking you, as your friend, to let this one go.” 

“These people are being slaughtered, they’re innocent people who…” Isabelle feels nothing but anger burning through her veins.

“Isabelle, please… Let. This. Go.” 

“This isn’t like you.” Isabelle frowns shake's her head before gathering the folder up. 

“Isabelle,” Aline wrings her hands together, she can’t meet her eyes at all. “These mundanes, there’s something you need to understand if you and Thomas are going to pursue this.”

“I’m listening.” 

“What do you know about the _Blud Haven Ten_?” 

  
  


**2016 Monterey County, Pacific Grove, California,**

Wade Evans walked into the house she shared with her sister, her face flushed with heat, a smile gracing her lips. Tonight with Tommy had been amazing, there was a light inside of her that she hadn’t felt in so long. Not since they first placed what remained of her family into witness protection years ago. For the first time in a long time, she finally felt happy. 

“Freddy, Piper, I’m home!” She dropped her bag onto the armchair by the front door. She walked into the kitchen ready to face the consequences. Alfredo ‘Freddy’ Mendez, the Marshall assigned to them at the start of this whole thing, still thought she needed a curfew. Wade was too old to be given a curfew, she was twenty-one for god's sake, and after tonight she would be flying free. 

Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, she paused. There’s something wrong. Wade can feel it in her gut, she placed the bottle on the counter and walked back to the living room, and promptly tripped over something. Wade slammed right down onto the hardwood floor, it felt like the wind got knocked out of her, and there was something wet and warm on her hands. Her headaches where it hit the floor, Wade has to blink a few times before she realized what exactly it is that’s in front of her. 

“Freddy?” Her voice cracked and she tried to hold in the urge to scream, her stomach felt like it was rolling. Freddy was always a tall, strong man, built (in Wade's eyes) like a lumberjack. Freddy had dark brown eyes that were always kind and warm. Now… those eyes were gone, milky white, his mouth twisted in horror, his body had been clawed open. Wade slowly backed away from the man she had called her friend, who had been assigned to protect her and Piper. 

“Hello, Dani…” 

She looked up at the stranger with long white hair and ink-black eyes. “Who are you, where’s my sister?” There was no good feeling about her at all.

“You don’t have to worry about these people anymore, Sweet Heart…” Her voice was low and raspy, projecting an air of calm. 

Wade’s lower lip trembled, eyes wide in horror as the stranger’s fingernails grow into claws. That scream she’d been holding in was finally released. 

  
  


**2019 Glendale, Los Angeles, California**

Evan Buckley had been carrying around this heat of anger inside of him for hours, ever since he’d slammed his way into his truck and drove off from Athena Grant's house halfway through dinner. He’d been invited by Athena and Bobby for dinner, and it had been going so well. His heartfelt so full, and he was happy. Buck had been trying to explain to Bobby and Athena some wild proposal about getting him back on the team, to show those assholes higher-ups that he was good enough to be with his team, his family, right where he belongs when Bobby had dropped the Mother of all Bombs on him. 

Buck had no idea what time it was when he pulled up to his apartment building. He gripped the steering wheel tightly before punching it several times, crying out with each hit. His heart ached at the thought of one of his closest friends betraying him like that, holding him back, having no faith in his abilities to do his job. To have his family’s back. He took several deep breaths, shaking his hand out as if to get rid of the new ache in his body. Buck rubbed his free hand across his face, wiping away the tears. This wasn’t how he thought his night would end, not with this deep slash of hurt inside of him. 

Buck slid out of his truck making sure to lock it before making his way to his building. Upstairs he slams the door shut and heads straight to the fridge, and there’s a moment where he thinks about taking out the whiskey before he remembers he’s on medication. It wouldn’t do to show up drunk off his ass at the station anyway. 

“Hello, Evan,” 

The low raspy voice makes him flinch, and his heart race. He knows that he closed the door, locked it even. There’s a woman standing in the middle of his loft, long white hair, and ink-black eyes. 

“Who the hell are you?” Buck frowns, there’s something off about her, the way she stands is way too still. “How’d you get in here?” 

The smile on her cracked lips stretched into something inhuman. “It doesn’t matter now, what matters is that I’ve found you.” 

“Do I know you?” his eyes sting with tears, lips trembling and he doesn’t know why. 

“It’s all right sweetheart.” She reached out with a pale hand, and Buck took a step back. Her hands are covered in dirt and blood, her fingernails grow. “It’s time you come home, Evan.” 

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Lisa for talking and being my beta on this. Alice for the translations concerning the language. Louise for helping with the html stuff. The awesome peeps in the writters caffe for pushing me to do this.

* * *

**2019 Hidden Springs, Abandoned facilities.**

The door to the poor excuse of a room opened up and a body was thrown onto the bed, landed face down with a soft grunt. Across the bed Wade’s bloodshot eyes opened, pupils dilated, her heart started to pound as she sluggishly tried to back away from the body. She cried out as one of the guards grabbed her right arm and pressed it down onto the body’s left arm. Wade struggled to keep the cold that crawled just under her skin, from escaping. She felt her eyes shift and bleed. The air in the room changed, it had cooled down at a rapid pace. It came out before she could stop it, it reached out for the warmth inside the unconscious man. It was a few minutes before the man’s mouth dropped open letting out a gasp and a shout as his eyes flew open, he struggled to pull away but they held him down.

The woman with the long white hair watched as she read from her book. The room echoed with their painful screams, a bright light erupting from the two on the bed….

**2021 Pacifica Hospital, outside of Hidden Springs, California.**

It seems like a lifetime between escaping that facility and being brought down to County General Hospital. Buck's been through every examination under the sun, which was normal if a little irritating. The same round of questions over and over was what probably drove them nuts. It wasn’t until the doctors kick the local detectives out of their room before either occupant could do something stupid out of irritation, that he can finally breathe. The sound of the door closing makes something inside of him relax, and he puffs out a breath in relief that the noise finally dies down. Buck sinks back onto the hospital bed, it's been a hell of a long morning. Too much of everything has left him feeling like his stomach’s rolling and his head is spinning. He glances down at his right arm, where it’s mostly covered in bandages. The doctor's said that something must've burnt him on the way out of where they've been kept. Something burnt him alright. Well more like someone - but that part was so hard to explain. Probably would have gotten him locked up in the psych ward instead of this semi-private room.

At first, Buck claims memory loss due to trauma, at the time it was the best idea. Aside from the minor burns, bruises, and cuts, minor dehydration from the last few days, he is sort of ok. Things could be a hell of a lot worse. He could have a broken arm like... _oh shit_. Buck almost forget's he isn't alone. He feels the temperature in the room drop. There is a familiar cold air that creeps down his spine like thin fingers. Being mindful of the cords and IV he slowly swings his legs over the edge of the bed. The bathroom door is still closed. Gauging the length of the room he wonders if he can make it to the other side without falling on his ass. "You gonna spend all day hiding in there?" he calls out, in a half-joking, half-concerned tone. A small thump from behind the door is the only answer he gets. It makes his insides feel like they're jumbled. Buck smiles slowly as he shifts on the bed, trying to figure out how to get her to come out. "Seriously... they're all gone now."

The bathroom door slowly creeks open, unfocus brown eyes peek out from behind a curtain of thick dark hair, narrowing down at the sound of his badly-covered laugh." **Nu fi prost**..."

Buck raises a brow at her, tilts his head, confusion fills him, as he glances around the room. There's no one else here so why... when it hits him he feels so stupid. His heartbeat picks up as the implication hit him. Buck’s an idiot who knows better. They’ve spent two years sharing a room with way too thin walls. They could never risk being overheard. Their only form of private communication was a language that was never their own. Taught to them by another prisoner who didn't survive the way they had. "Wade... ” **Uită-te spre mine și numai spre mine**." Buck hopes that she can hear him, see him, and not the walls of their old room. He holds up his least injured hand, moves it slowly towards her, and back toward himself. "We got out, we're safe... It's November 2021, we're in Los Angeles, California, Pacifica hospital, room 303." Buck can see Wade's eyes slowly clear up, her pupils slightly dilating. "You with me?"

Wade takes a deep breath and suddenly the cold creeping up his spine just moments ago disappears. He lets out a sharp laugh, nothing amusing in it. "Jesus, Wade, you can't _do_ that when Maddie shows up." He almost feels sorry for the way Wade flinches back. "I'm sorry... I'm not mad."

The obvious tilt of her head and the slow way she shuffles forward, tell him he didn't exactly give off that impression. "I'm sorry." He feels it deep down in his stomach the way it clenches hard, at the thought of his sister seeing either of them like this. Finding out what's those people did to them, what they were made into. Buck slides off the bed and moves towards Wade to help her but she waves him off, with a slight shake of her head.

"I’m not a **kid** Buck, I can do it." Wade's voice is low and rough, not from dis-use but rather from the bruising around her neck. There’s a slight accent over her words, he's never heard before. He winces, looks down at her left arm, where it was encased in a tinted cast. A smile makes it way across his face. She'd been sleeping at the time and some weird part of him had told the attending doctor that purple was her favorite color. He wasn’t sure that was true but it felt good to just pull something over on her.

"Wade..."

"I get _it_ ," she snaps, looking towards the partially open window into the hall where people are milling about their day. "I know better... we can't...," she whispers, almost shameful.

Buck knew exactly what she's gonna say before she says it. It pains him to know that this right here, isn't even the hardest part. The hardest part has yet to come. According to the doc, they have been through so much more than either of them can remember. So he hadn't exactly lied about not knowing, it was just... hard to put into words what they had become without giving away what was done to them. He moves slowly, so as to give her time to object. He finds himself sitting on the second bed, holding his hand out, palm side up. Buck looks around before letting the heat inside of him coil up, eyes narrow in concentration as he thought about pushing it up through his hand. Just like that it heats up, the skin glows a dim orange... like flames in a fire. Buck waits for it, waits for the subtle shift in the air before Wade is reaching out. Right arm, palm down, her skin is lit a little brighter than his own, slightly blue. For a minute all he can do is stare down at the image they make, mesmerized in a way he wasn't able to be, before. Buck is momentarily thrown back to the day he discovered what they did to him. How scared he'd been when Wade had lit her arm up and placed it against his own.

_"What the hell?!"_

_"You can't ever show them."_

"We can't show them," he repeats as the present washes over him. He is slow to let go of the light he'd created and watches as Wade does the same. He catches her hand in his own, curling his fingers around hers, and felt her hesitation before she leans into his side. Buck felt horrible when she nods, tears slid down his face. They wouldn't understand. Hell, this has been a part of his life for the last two years and he still doesn't understand why. "We've got this," he shifts slightly, moving his left arm around her shoulders, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head, "I promise.”

~*~

Buck is getting a little restless in their room, it didn't help that the plainclothes officer guarding their door insist they stay inside. Why they still need someone to watch them was beyond him, not that they would tell him anything. When it comes to getting answers out of anybody it's like pulling teeth. So he waits until the guy dozes off before trying to sneak out for something better than the crap they've been feeding them. He knows there's a vending machine down the hall, and it would take no more than a few minutes to shake one down.

God, he’d miss junk food.

Wade's asleep on the bed, so it is a solo mission. He can do this. Edging around the door, he slides his foot out to catch the door before it can slam shut. Careful as could be, he sneaks around the dozing guard and makes his way down the empty halls. The lights are dim, the sun is already starting to set outside. Buck tries his hardest not to think about another set of dark halls. He was on a mission, he keeps repeating to himself. _Get to the machine for munchies_. It's hard to ignore the way his heart is pounding away in his chest like it was trying to escape or something. “I got this.” It was stupid really. It was just a normal hallway. In a dumb hospital.

“And where do you think you're going?”

Those few words echoing down the hall seems to lock Buck into place. He feels the phantom pains in his back, the echo of an... _inhumane fist smacking against his skin. Wade crying for them to stop, that she’d do what they asked if they’d just stop..._

“BUCK.”

“BUCK...”

“... EVAN!”

He flinches, throwing himself backward, back slamming into the wall, away from the hands that are reaching out for him, he slides down to the cold floor. Buck gas as all the air seemed to rush out of him, in one hard blow. It takes a few minutes for him to come back to himself, away from the Institute and back to the hospital hallway. Buck has to mentally repeat that he isn’t in the dank hallway of the Institute, that he is not alone. He takes several deep breaths, lungs filling with air, before blowing it back out. Buck looks towards the three bodies standing not even a few feet away from him.

Two very familiar faces.

"Ma...Maddie?" Buck frowns, hazy fog of confusion, clouds his mind. It takes another long minute to sink in that his sister is standing in front of him, along with… "Chimney."

"Buck!"

The next moment Maddie is in his arms crying, and Buck is trying his best to understand how she got here. Chimney is right by his side, arms around his back, they're pulling him up off the floor. Their grips are not tight but it still bothers him when he is pushed between them a little too fast. Maddie is pulling back and looking him over before half-smiling through tears. Her hair is much shorter than he remembered, a hell of a lot lighter too.

"What happened... where have you been?"

He opens his mouth to tell her... well, he doesn't know what he would have told her. Just then, the sound of glass breaking caught all of their attention. That's when he feels it, the cold that never left him, the shift in the air that creeps over his skin. "No... no, no, no." Buck feels his stomach roll, heart pounding in his chest as his eyes narrow down. That sound came from the direction of their room.

"Evan... what.."

Buck can see someone on the ground surrounded by the broken glass... the glass from a window to their room.

Wade.

He starts running and before he knows it, he's near the doorway. The plainclothes officer that had been guarding the door is gone, he hears the shouting. The body on the ground shifts in place, groaning in pain. Wade steps through the doorway. Anger doesn't begin to describe what's coming off of her. It's more like rage, he can see it in the way her finger's curl into a fist, "You come near me or Buck and I WILL KILL YOU."

A dark-haired woman is holding onto Wade's free arm trying and failing to pull her back. She looks vaguely familiar to him but he can't place her. All he can see is the skin around Wade's eyes beginning to light up. Buck can hear Maddie and Chimney coming towards them.

_"You can't let them see..."_

Buck reaches out with his right hand, covers her eyes and not so gently tilts her head down. His left arm comes up swiftly around her waist pulling her up short and yanking her out of the other women's grasp. “Trage-le înapoi," Wade’s body trembles with rage, trying hard as hell to pull away from him. She is strong, but Buck's stronger than both of them and he's having a hell of a go at holding her back from the guy on the floor. They don't have time for niceness, and he hates himself for what he's about to do."Wade, Vă rog." When he gets no reaction other than her struggling against him, he sighs, regretful. "I'm sorry," Buck whispers as he slips back into that space in his head, and heart. Space where she taught him to hide his light. Pushes and pulls it around until he could reach that part that was uniquely Wade. Buck grabs at that cold blue heat, Buck yanks as hard as he could. Mentally apologizing. It feels like forever but it's mere seconds before he's brought back to his surroundings by Wade's painful screams. Buck looks up at the woman and can now see the badge on her hip. Something's off about it, but he can't make sense of it just yet. "Get _him_ out of here."

The woman nods and goes to help her partner up off the floor, urging him down toward the elevators. She turns to look at them, dark brown eyes full of regret. "I'm sorry Ms. Evans, we can pick up this discussion when you're feeling better."

"Detective...." It wasn't his words that made her stop, but the harsh tone of it.

"Lightwood,"

"Detective Lightwood, I don't think we will be talking to your partner anytime soon."

Detective Lightwood, glances back at her partner who's waiting hunched over by the elevators, before nodding at them and walking away.

" **Tu cu mine**?"

Wade's free hand comes up and tugs down on the hand that's been covering her eyes. He loosens his grip around her waist, giving her the room she needs to move. But she doesn't move until the Detectives are gone from their sight. When she finally does, it's to shove him back, eyes filled with tears, lips trembling. He reaches out for her, but Wade moves away from him and back into their room, pulling at their bond. There's a rolling feeling in his stomach and a tightening in his chest. She pulls too far, and Buck can feel the bond stretching thin, all because he broke his promise. It hurts more than he thought it would.

" _Buck_ , what is going on?"

Buck doesn't even know where to begin to explain, and there's a stinging hot flash in his eyes. Turning to face Maddie all he can do is let them flow freely. The crashing sensation he's been holding back hits like waves, as he lets her pull him into her arms. He was right before.

The hard part was just beginning.

~*~

Convincing the hospital staff to let him go home with his sister took some time, let alone getting them to release Wade as well. They were both legal adults and (so far) in a healthy, stable condition. Aside from the obvious wounds, but those were healing up with no complications. Buck doesn't understand the hold-up, which was made worse when he realized that Wade was giving him the cold shoulder... figuratively speaking. Maddie and Chimney hadn't left his side and he was equal parts relieved and annoyed. Then felt guilty for even feeling annoyed. He hasn't seen them in so long, it was the best and worst thing about today. He let Maddie's ramble about how everyone was excited to see him, wash over like a balm to his soul. He smiles when she talks about how Hen and Karen were airing out his old place, how she hadn't had the heart to give it up.

"We never gave up hope you'd come home."

Maddie grips his hands and wasn't that the thing. It was a shameful flush of natural heat, that made him lose his smile. Remembers lying on an old mattress, bleeding out, thinking he'd never get to go home. It was Wade that had pushed him out of that place, reminding him he had people... family to get back to, to live for.

~*~

The staff at Pacifica have been so kind and understanding but there was a running tension since Detective Lightwood came back around. Partner-less this time. When she explained the reason why they hadn't been released and weren't supposed to be, he'd nearly lost it. Detective Isabelle Lightwood was a part of the world that was responsible for ripping him away from his family. Oh, she was a detective alright but she was also something of the law, a Shadow-Hunter. Buck and Wade were connected to several missing persons' case that dated back almost ten years. Cases that involved both the Shadow World and a missing Federal Agent who’d been in the know. Buck has never been so angry at anyone before, not even when Bobby revealed that he was the one behind keeping Buck on light duty at the firehouse. "You're not gonna keep us here." He’ll be damned if they keep him here against his will. No one was ever gonna do that to him or Wade ever again.

Wade glares at Detective Lightwood, barely keeping her abilities under control. Two years' worth of practicing and it was going out the window. Buck comes up behind her, eyes narrowing down at Lightwood. “Nu-l vei ține departe de familia lui."

Buck's heart is racing at the thought of being locked up again. No freakin' way is that happening.

"That's not what I said, Dani..."

Buck watches Detective Lightwood hold out her hands trying to defuse the situation, but it's useless. The entire room seems to become colder, faster than he can counter it. He drops his head, shaking slightly to the left. Feels Wade flinches at the sound of her old name. In one of her more delusional feverish states, Wade had told him the entire story behind her wit-sec life.

"Daniella Rodriguez... died, the day you and… your so-called partner decided to screw with her life... b-but that's what you Shadow hunters do, d-don't you?" Her words are a bit stilted like she’s trying to parse the meaning out.

Buck thanks whatever deity that was watching over them, that Maddie chose that moment to walk into the room and announce that they could leave this afternoon for home. His sister has push so hard for his release leaving the staff no choice. His body fills with relief until he realizes that it would mean leaving Wade behind. In a blind panic, he pulls her to the side and asks that they take Wade with them.

"Shouldn't we contact her family?"

"She doesn't have anyone left... Maddie please, she saved my life. If it wasn't for her I wouldn't be here at all."

"OK, OK, I'll see what I can do."

~*~

So here he sits in the back seat of Maddie's car, his sister driving and her husband, man that was a revelation, sitting in the passenger seat. Wade sitting as if she was trying to become one with the door. He bites his lip trying not to bring attention to the back seat, while his sister and Chimney are deep in conversation. Buck is slouch down, his long legs up against the back of Chimney's seat. He makes sure that they can't see as he slides his arm across the middle seat, palm open, skin just barely lit with an orange tint. It takes a good minute before Wade shifts, eyeing the front seat before she slides her hand across the seat. He can see her skin barely lit with a blue tint, just before he engulfs her hand in his. There's a small flare in his chest, a warmth that settles before the light in their hands fade. Buck feels slightly whole again.


	3. 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly thought I had posted this part. LoL. Much thanks to toughpaperround for being my beta and puppyxpapi for being awesome language guide and translator. Also this took me at least 20 tries to format the hell out of this.

* * *

**2019 Hidden Springs, Abandoned facilities.**

"Vă rog, începeți din nou." Traian was an imposing older gentleman, dressed in worn but well-kept clothing. If it wasn’t for the solid cuffs around his wrist, with the runes on them, he would have passed as normal as his two charges once seemed. They’ve been over this same lesson for two months, ever since he discovered they had been bonded. Young Wade had been teaching Buck how to hide his abilities. That wasn’t going to save either of them, so Traian made a deal with his guards. Traian had the two of them sitting back to back. They were very tired and frustrated, as was evident in the way they spat out their words.

“Nu pot.” Buck gritted out, rubbing the palm of his hand down his legs.

“Din nou.”

Wade took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Buck shook his head, stubborn as always.

Traian watched the two, as their abilities rose to the surface. In a matter of minutes their respective powers showed bright but it crumbled down as the room echoed with their painful scream….

**PT 2  
**

**2021**

The drive back to Los Angeles seems like a blur to Buck, nothing but a speeding highway of images that makes his stomach feel like it is on a goddamn roller coaster. The only thing that keeps him grounded is the cool hand holding on to his heated one. By the time they pull up to Maddie and Chimney's place, he is so exhausted. Logically he knew that his apartment wasn't going to be ready but that didn’t stop him from wanting to be there now. Away from the manic energy that his big sister keeps throwing his way.

Maddie and Chimney had offered them the guestroom in their new home. New to Buck anyway. They had moved a little bit closer to the station last year. Maddie is talking a mile a minute but all Buck wants to do is just sleep. The way Wade is practically doing, on her feet. Chimney finally picks up on this because the next thing Buck knows, he is alone with Wade in the guest room. An unusually silent Wade who still isn't talking to him. It’s funny how all he wanted was a few moments of silence and when he finally gets it, it is from the wrong person.

”Wade Uită-te la mine.”

She whips her head around, eyes widening in surprise. Yeah, he guesses his tone was a little harsh but he is so tired, and frustrated. He had got used to being around just one other person for so long that now, with more than that, he is starting to shake.

”Mi-ai promis că nu o să-mi faci niciodată asta.” Her accusing tone hurts more than anything. It is the first time since that day that she's spoken to him. Even with Maddie and Chim trying to bring her into conversations, she hadn't exactly spoken. It sends his mind reeling, and his stomach clenches. "I said I was sorry."

<</a>

"Nu fac asta acum." Buck scrubs a hand down his face. No way is he going to let her pick a fight in the guest room of his sister's house, not when the walls carry sound, and they are so tired.

"Fuck you."

Unbelievable. He knows exactly why she is doing this but it isn't helping. it is a heated warning, one they'd used before, but she either doesn't want to hear it or she heard it and chooses to ignore it. He gathers the sleep clothes that Chim had let him borrow, and moves towards the bathroom door. "We'll talk about it tomorrow." And really, that should be the end of it. He thanks whatever gut feeling he has, that makes him duck just in time. The book hits the wall mere inches from where he was standing. Wide-eyed, Buck turns in place, head tilting and taking in how she stands with her arms crossed. There’s a frown on her face and she can’t seem to look at him. Buck looks back down where the book landed, it has taken down the clutter on the end table, he blows out a breath trying to shake off the building heat of anger... the knock on the closed door gets their attention.

"Buck, everything okay?" Chimney calls out, concern filling his voice.

"Yeah, just bumped into the table Chim, everything's cool."

"Alrighty then." Buck waits till the footsteps fade before turning to go into the bathroom. This is turning out to be more stressful than he thought. "You're gonna clean that up, and I'm gonna shower." It was the most he could get out before he left.

~*~

The shower helps clear his head a little, in ways coming home just hasn't been able to. The trip from Hidden Springs, and Maddie's hovering, just about drains him in more ways than one. Wade's inability to keep a conversation in English and then... oh man, he just wants to sleep. He's moving on automatic and before he knows it, he's in his borrowed sleep clothes and moving towards the one bed in the room. Slinking onto the left side, curling up a bit to make room for Wade. He pushes himself up onto his elbows looking around the room for her. Frowns when he sees her sitting on the floor, a pillow held against her stomach. “Maddie a pregătit canapeaua.”

"Are you serious right now?" He shifts on his side, wincing as the bandages on his arm pull on his skin. "Ai un pat foarte bun aici." He feels kind of stupid watching her raise an eyebrow, the slight tilt of her head, how her lips press together. It takes a second for what she says without words to sink in. Maddie doesn't know how either of them slept, where or even why. So while it wasn't weird for him personally, to share the bed, which was big enough for both of them, it would be weird for his sister and Chimney. He can feel his heart drop, hangs his head in defeat. Plants his feet on the carpeted floor and makes for the living room. Wade reaches up, grasping his wrist tugging him to a halt. Buck crouches down, making sure he can look her in the eyes. Smiles as he tries to ignore the tightening in his chest. "It's fine." He's lying, and he knows that she knows. A light squeeze to his wrist is all he gets before she lets him go.

He hates this. This rolling feeling of wrong that goes through him as he walks out of the guest room and into the living room. He tries to settle on the sofa, to ignore that instinct that tells him to go back into the guest room. It’s like an itch under his skin that won’t stop, no matter what he does. So he slides his hand into the pocket of the sweat pants and pulls out the runed Kilij. Traian had given it to him one night, when he’d had trouble being around Wade. Their mentor had shown him how the Rune burnt into the handle hid the weapon from the guards, and any mortal without the sight. Buck unsheathes it, fingers the other Runes that had been burnt into it. Traian told him that when the time came, he would know how to use them. His eyes sting with tears, chest heavy with regret as he remembers how the older man had taught him how to hold it, how to balance it, so it became an extension of himself.

Buck is so lost in the memories that it takes him forever to realize that someone else is in the room with him, and doesn't even think before he throws Kilij in that direction. The slight gasp has him shooting up from his recline position. "Maddie?!"

"Christ! Evan, what the hell?" She has a hand on her chest and is staring horrified at the weapon that is stuck in the wall, inches from where she has been standing. How long had she been watching him from there?

"I'm... I'm sorry, Maddie I didn't see you."

The looks she gives him makes him think that she doesn't believe that. She tries to take the knife out of the wall but he knows it won't happen. He'd unknowingly dug into his new strength when he'd thrown it at her. Oh god, he'd nearly killed his sister for just standing in the same room. His heart was beating so fast at the thought of hurting her.

"It's okay, apparently you don't have as good an aim as you think."

She's wrong. And he knows it. He meant to scare off whoever was in the room with him. Buck shuffles over to the wall and gently pulls her hand away from the handle, then tugs it once, twice, before it comes loose. To Maddie it looks like a small serrated knife, to Buck it’s a part of him, a gift given to him by his mentor. He places it back in its sheath and slides it back into his pocket, all without looking her in the eyes. He can feel her gaze on him and it's making his face flush with heat.

"I guess knife-throwing is a skill to add to your resume."

The joke falls flat, and the room feels like it's trying to crush him. It's not the worst feeling Buck’s had so far, but it also isn't the best. He knows what she's trying to do but he can’t help but think about what would have happened had the Kilij sunk into her, instead of the wall.

"Buck, it's okay."

The hell it was. The sting in his eyes feels much worse when her hands cup his face. He doesn’t want to let the tears fall, not here.

"You've been through a lot, I never expected you to come back unscathed."

Buck doesn't know what to say to that. Never thought what it would be like to come home after everything they went through.

"I'm just glad you're home."

At least that's one thing they can sort of agree on. He tries to smile but it comes off as more of a grimace.

"Get some sleep, okay?"

He nods, taking in the smile she gives him before she turns around and goes back to bed. It takes a lot longer for him to fall asleep on the sofa, the feeling of wrongness doesn’t go away. He has to fight the urge to slink his way back to the guest room. Buck has a feeling this wouldn’t be the first time Maddie checked up on him, and he really didn’t want to explain why he wasn't on the sofa. He hits the pillow a few times trying to find a comfortable position. When he finally did, it was nearly sun up.

~*~

Buck doesn’t know how long he sleeps in, but it must have been a pretty deep sleep. It’s the slight tug on his left hand that wakes him, and he doesn't have to open his eyes to know who it is. The sound of feet shuffling from upstairs has him going from half asleep, to fully awake. Buck knows if he doesn’t get up now he'll just get more questions. Questions he isn't ready to answer, so it's with a heavy sigh that he opens his eyes. The clock on the wall says it's nearing eleven am. Buck glances down by the sofa and he sees Wade's dark hair covering the pillow she'd been holding onto the night before. Buck didn't know when she got there, or how long she's been holding onto him. Some part of him realizes this was probably why he'd been able to fall into a proper sleep. The other part prays that his sister hadn't seen her.

Reluctantly, he lets go of Wade's hand, missing the cool touch against his own way too warm hand. He curls a finger around her dark hair, gently pulling it to the side revealing her bruised cheek. He really hates to wake her up, they both could use a couple more hours of real sleep. He knows that's not possible anymore when he hears the bedroom door open up. He considers throwing the rest of the blanket over her, hiding her from view, before mentally smacking himself. He looks up for a few seconds, hearing Chim's low voice, then glances back down at Wade before he prods her side with his index finger, does it a second time and is about to go in for a third when she captures his finger in her hand giving it a good squeeze. He can tell she's about to bend it backward. "Wade."

One eye opens, glaring daggers at him but he doesn't have time for niceness. He tilts his head upwards to where he can still hear his sister and Chimney talking in low tones. It takes a second for her to get it but when she does, he sort of regrets waking her. Before he can apologize, Wade rolls over, taking the blankets with her. Buck shoots up from his reclined position, gasping at the shock of going from being warm and toasty, to cold as hell. "What the f- ”

Wade’s by the guest room door still glaring when Maddie comes down the steps.

“Buck?”

Buck flops backward, then sits back up so fast, eyes widening in surprise when his head hit the armrest pretty hard instead of his soft pillow, where the hell did his pillow go? He spins in place, frowning, when said pillow comes flying from across the room, right into his face.

“Buck, are you up?”

Biting back several words that he wants to say, Buck stabs a finger towards Wade, mouthing, “You're dead,” and rubbing the back of his head as if trying to erase the ache there. He'd forgotten neither of them was morning people. "Yeah, Maddie.”

“Hey, good morning.” She comes around into the living room as Wade vanishes behind the door to the guest room. Maddie’s leaning against the other end of the sofa. ”How’d you sleep?”

He shrugs his shoulders trying to come up with an honest reply. “Okay, I guess.”

“Sorry, we didn't realize you would be coming home with a friend.”

“It’s fine, Madds.”

There’s such an awkward silence here that is making him a little more than nervous. He tries not to fidget with the way she's staring at him. Like she's waiting for him to say more. It dawns on him, just then that it might have been stupid to hide the fact that Wade slept out here with him because Maddie was already dressed. As if she’d been up for hours, and not just a few minutes ago. He hangs his head, partially in guilt, partly to hide the ridiculous urge to laugh.

”You could have told us, we wouldn't have made you sleep on the sofa…”

Buck has to refrain from laughing now and hopes that Wade can’t hear them. “It’s not like that.”

Maddie smiles, rolls her eyes and takes a seat by him. “It's okay, I know when people go through a traumatic experience together they tend to...”

“Maddie, stop.” Maybe it's the tone in his voice that makes her do a double-take. “It's not like that with Wade and me.” And now he's shaking with the urge to run away, he can feel it from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. The two of them have never had the chance to actually breathe, let alone talk about what their bond meant. He was not about to pull at that particular thread with his sister before he could with Wade.

Maddie reaches out placing a hand on his arm. “I didn't mean to upset you, Chim came down this morning and saw the two of you together. I’ve been…”

“I swear, it's not like that. She's the only person who's been with me through…” he looks down at his fading bruises. He didn't want to do this now.

“You don't have to talk about it.”

That's good to know.

“Come on, get dressed, Bobby and Athena are coming over for brunch, figured we…”

Buck’s heart is racing at the thought of seeing them again. The last time he saw them, Bobby had told him the real reason Buck hadn't been let back to work full time. He’d been so heartbroken at the thought of Bobby being the roadblock to his job, his family. He’d walked away and was… was…

“Buck?”

Buck's chest feels entirely too tight like there is very little air coming in. There is a weird wheezing sound, and it takes a few seconds to realize it is coming out of him.

“Buck, breathe…”

He is trying. For every bit of air he takes in, it feels like it is punching right back out even faster. It feels like there is too much heat pushing around his body. Out of nowhere, a cool hand covers his eyes, forcing his head to tilt downward, an arm slides across his chest, not pinning him down, just resting there, pressing gently over his pounding heart. "Respira”. It feels like forever before his heart slows to a steady pace, he can feel the heat receding till his body’s back to normal temperature. “Esti cu mine?”

Buck nods slowly, like he's on autopilot, bringing his left hand up and gently tugging Wade’s hand away from his eyes. His vision is blurry from the tears, he tries rubbing them away. He somehow wound up on the floor, back to the sofa with Wade kneeling behind him. He looks back at her, eyes filling with both worry and… guilt? Why? It’s not until he looks towards the coffee table that he sees Maddie sitting there with an equally shocked-looking Chimney standing behind her.

Oh.

Well, this was not how he wanted his first day back to start.

~*~

“Cred că ai speriat-o.”

“Crezi că!?” Buck could not believe this was happening. After his panic attack the two of them take refuge in the guest room, getting ready for the impending visit.

"I know." Wade says that like he's a dummy or something.

He can feel his own eyes narrowing down at her, what the hell. Her hands are up, the right one is tinged blue before she taps his heart with it. He could feel it stutter a few beats at the implication that his abilities slipped during his panic attack. "Did Maddie see?"

"No."

Bucks sighs in relief and annoyance. First the hospital scene, and now this is exactly what he didn’t want happening. Two year's worth of work, learning how to control this and just a few days back in the real world, and he was losing it. Next time he might do

more than just worry his sister or Chimney.

"This isn't good. "I can't... I... I can't hurt them." He's shaking at the very thought of his abilities, "I nearly killed her last night. I can't..." 

Wade shifts so she's standing in front of him, pupils dilating, coloring fading back to brown. "Ce?"

"I still have the Kilij that Tarian gave me. It was soothing, something to play with." Now he just sounds like a little kid trying to explain something before getting scolded by his mother. "I didn't... I didn't see her but I knew someone was in the room with me, and I..." he mimics throwing the damn thing across the room. Biting his lip, he feels a little stupid now that he thinks about it. Wade is not impressed, if the way she glares at him means anything. He reluctantly nods his head. "Yeah."

"Shit...."

~*~

"He was speaking another language. I didn't even know he could do that." Maddie sounds so frantic, as she paces back and forth.

"Hon, you have to calm down."

"Calm down? He had a panic attack Chim, and I couldn't even help him..."

Well, this isn't a conversation Buck wants to hear. He came out here to tell them that maybe the reunion dinner wasn’t such a good idea, the two of them were in the kitchen and Buck had frozen just to the side of the entrance, where they couldn’t see him.

"Maddie."

"No, this is my baby brother."

"Hey, come here."

His gut clenches at the thought of hurting her more but at least she's alive to feel anything. A nudge at his ribs has him glancing down at Wade, the frown on her face tells him, he shouldn't be listening in on this. So with reluctance he moves backward. Away from the kitchen entrance.

~*~

Later, Buck finds himself standing like an awkward turtle, heart beating so hard in his chest while trying to remain calm on the outside. The brunch was moved to a late dinner because of a call made, as Bobby has to be on for another few hours. His palms are sweaty and it is hard to tell if it is his nerves or his abilities trying to break through. It doesn't help that Maddie had roped Wade into helping her cook. That more than anything is making him nervous, and he can't figure out why. So far they have been getting along, and it isn't like either of them are being mean. Wade looked to be having fun. Why the hell is he having such a hard time?

A beer bottle appears out of nowhere. Chimney smiles sheepishly.

“Sorry, you looked like you could use one.”

Buck nods his thanks and then downs half the bottle. “Keep 'em coming.”

”Oookay.”

Later, he would look back and wish he hadn't downed as many as he had before his friends had arrived.

~*~


End file.
